


Check (Me) Out

by Gee_Grace



Category: GOT7
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, M/M, Mild Angst, Romantic Jackson, Shy/Awkward Mark, Slice of Life, Strangers to Lovers, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, brief mention of other idols
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-10
Updated: 2017-08-07
Packaged: 2018-11-12 14:10:15
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 20,377
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11163480
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gee_Grace/pseuds/Gee_Grace
Summary: Being the socially awkward photography student/part-time cashier he was, Mark never paid much attention to the idea of finding his soulmate, content with the company of himself and a select few friends.Enter Jackson Wang.





	1. Chance Encounters

When Mark took on the job at the convenience store 2 blocks away from his family home, it was partially for the purpose of a bit of extra cash (being a broke photography student was a tough life), but also to get some time out of the family home. While his siblings have long since moved out, he, being the shy recluse he was, saw no need to fork out extra money to find an apartment he could afford in LA.

He knew his parents worried for his anti-social tendencies sometimes, wishing he’d meet more people for a higher chance of meeting his soulmate, but he had his few close friends and he was happy – crowded parties and friendship groups as big as a class of students had just never appealed to him. He would much rather have been out taking pictures of the parks and wildlife that was still present within the concrete jungle.

Occasionally he would photograph people, if someone or something caught his eye; an emotion bright enough, a loud that echoed through a crowded space. When he found his soulmate, great, but he wasn’t going running around rushing to find them – some people never found theirs and to be honest, he wasn’t sure he was ready for that kind of intimate commitment that he didn’t even choose.

Some of his close friends had already found their soulmates and while they were perfect for each other, it did nothing to help the worry of feeling smothered if his match was more into the idea of soulmates than he was.

They say a person’s soulmate is their other half, everything the individual is not themselves, but in the most complementary way. This did not bode well for Mark’s soulmate being a soft-spoken recluse like himself; no doubt they’d end up being outgoing and bubbly, a go-getter with a good job and a secure future – everything Mark himself was not.

But at the tender age of 22, in his final year of college, he had far more important things to worry about than someone he may never meet – like what job would he get? Would he move out anytime soon? What next?

It was 5pm on a busy Saturday; his shift had just ended and he pulled his jacket over his uniform shirt, shielding him from the early autumn air. Yoongi had just taken over his shift, sliding in to the seat behind the till looking about as enthusiastic as Yoongi could manage as the human representation of a statue.

Mark was just about to bid his goodbyes to his colleague, when a smell filled his nostrils. It was deep and rich, like the darkest red cherry had been dipped in melted chocolate and it made Mark’s mouth water and pulse quicken.

Well shit.

The shop was busy and it was unclear which direction the smell had assaulted his senses from; he felt like he was drowning. Swallowing harshly, he quickly glanced around the room until his eyes locked with an equally astounded looking blonde male. He looked about Mark’s age; his hair, clearly dyed, was slightly slicked back at the top and shorter at the sides. He wore the tightest black ripped jeans 

Mark thought he’d ever seen, thick cargo boots covering his feet. An expensive but worn looking leather jacket sat atop a lose black wife beater; everything about him screamed bad boy, hell, he probably road a motorbike and smoked ten a day just for the hell of it.

Dark eyes stared him down, the whites wider than normal as his mouth opened and closed a few times, hand slowly rising almost as if to reach out to Mark, who was now backing towards the exit.

Trust Mark’s luck that of all the people he’d match with, it would be another Chinese man out in big old Los Angeles; but someone that seemed to be so opposite to him – maybe the whole spiel about ‘opposites attracting’ had some truth.

It was when the people around him started to give him strange looks as he shuffled backwards towards the door looking like a deer in the headlights, that he woke up from his stupor, as did his soulmate it seems and everything kicked into overdrive. The blonde man smiled reproachfully at him, taking a firm step in his directing.

Mark bolted. Straight up turned around and ran. Ran out of the door, down the road and into the alleyway near the shop that would take him towards his street within a few minutes if he was lucky.

Even over the pulsing heartbeat in his ears and the sound of LA traffic, he could hear footsteps manage to push through the crowd in the store and the deep voice calling after him.

“Hey, wait!” The tone was as rich as the smell from earlier and it made Mark’s heart jump, but he wasn’t stopping, he wasn’t ready, not like this. Not now.

Luckily, he had taken track at school, as well as martial arts and he was easily able to hop the fence at the end of the street, bringing him only one street away from his own house. Ducking into his street, still feeling the quickly approaching presence behind him, he barely reached his front door, which luckily was open as his mother wasn’t working and was no doubt spending it gardening.

Shutting the door swiftly behind him, he gulped in much needed fresh air that didn’t smell like cherry as his back slid down the door, head knocking against it.

The aura of his soulmate was still somewhere nearby but was wavering; no doubt he was angry with Mark for running away – who runs from the biological love of their life at first sight?

“Mark? Baby, what’s wrong?” He opened his eyes again, face heated up from the exertion, as well as the incoming embarrassment from the situation he’d created.

“I met him… my soulmate” His mother’s eyes widened and a thrilled smile appeared on her face as she clasped her hands together. No doubt delighted that her antisocial son had finally met someone (if indeed involuntarily) and he almost felt bad that he hadn’t exactly met his soulmate as much as witnessed his soulmate.

“That’s amazing, who is he? Where is he?” She glanced around confusedly, almost as if expecting the man to pop out of somewhere yelling ‘surprise!’.

“Well, he’s somewhere out there, I don’t know who he is, I… I ran away” His mother froze a look of genuine confusion and disbelief on her face, before she whipped the cloth that was resting over her shoulder in his direction, swatting him scoldingly over the head.

“What on earth… why would you do that? Do you know how hard it is to find someone in this city?” Becoming more frantic by the second, his mother spun around and scuttled off to the kitchen, making herself a cup of tea as she processed the seemingly baffling information. It was as he expected, after all his parents were soulmates, who met at church of all places – how picturesque.

“I don’t know, I panicked” His mother frowned at him, but it wasn’t in disappointment, in was in worry. She pulled him into a hug and sat him down at the table, mug in hand. “He was just so, intense, so striking and it took my off-guard and I ran” He sighed, letting his face rest in his palms on the table as he mulled over exactly how much he might have just fucked up.

Once you found a soulmate, your body craves the other’s presence, even if it was just to smell them, or just to hear their voice; your soul would ache if distanced for too long with no contact, needing to be close to its other half.

And Mark had just left his in smoke in a small store on a non-descript street, his mother was right, it was so difficult to find someone in a city as big as Los Angeles. From this moment on, the more days he spent isolated from his soulmate, the more depressed he would become; the harder it would be to get up and be motivated for the day.

He was mildly tempted to go back outside, in a vain hope that his soulmate would be waiting for him, like in every sappy romcom. But he also couldn’t bare the humiliation he’d have to face in explaining himself; he just wasn’t ready to meet the person that was so bright and so gorgeous that he was intimidated by him.

“It’ll be OK Mark, where did you meet him? Maybe he’ll go back there tomorrow to find you” Mark groaned out load when he realised that even if he wanted to reject his soulmate and pretend it never happened, it was his place of work and surely the blonde man would come looking for him – if he was on shift he could hardly do a runner again, he would be trapped in such a public setting.

“Work” His mother made a noise of acknowledgement at Mark’s distress but rested a comforting hand on his cheek, thumb rubbing circles into his skin.

“Just be you, he’s your soulmate for a reason, give him a chance” With that, his mother stood, wandering back into their garden to tend to her vegetable patch, leaving her son to brood in peace.

 

~~ Monday ~~

 

Mark had the late shift on a Monday, after his classes had long finished for the day and at exactly 5pm he found himself switching seats, this time with Dahyun. She was a pretty girl, only 18, fresh out of high school; despite the age gap they were quite close and Dahyun was funny, meaning that whatever shifts they had together were inevitably his favourite.

It was unfortunate that she rarely worked until the 10pm close, due to her age and the manager worrying about her walking home alone that late.

“Hey Oppa!” She insisted on using Korean formalities even outside of Korea, but Mark didn’t mind, it showed she was comfortable around him and she was one of the few people outside of his friends that he relaxed around.

“Evening Dahyun, good shift?” She smiled at him, hanging around the end of his till as he logged in to the till, waving briefly at Janice, the middle-aged woman who owned the store.

“Yeah, something strange happened though” She eyed him up and Mark had a feeling he knew what was coming. “A man a little shorter than you with blonde hair came in asking about a slim employee with brown hair and pretty eyes” Mark flushed, concentrating unnecessarily on counting up the cash in his till to make sure it matched the sheets. “He said that the man was his soulmate, but that he ran before he could even say hello. He also said he’d been back yesterday, but he was told that the man would be working today, so here he was” Dahyun continued, acting as if she talking about the weather, not some twisted romance plot.

“Oh really. So what did you tell him?” He glanced in her direction, seeing her smirk at him as she twirled a bit of hair between her thumb and forefinger.

“That the man’s name was Mark and that he was starting work at 5, but that you’d be pretty busy until about 7” Mark’s mouth dropped open, gaping at her like a goldfish.

“You did not” Dahyun just smiled softly and shrugged, heading towards the door. “Yah, what if I ran for a reason?”

“Soulmates are soulmates, you’re only hurting yourself by avoiding him. Plus he seems like a nice guy, I think you’ll like him. Oh, and his name is Jackson” and with that she was gone, leaving Mark in as much disbelief as he had been the other day. No doubt this Jackson would be back to see him as instructed by Dahyun, which means he had about 2 hours to both prepare himself and panic before he would arrive.

At exactly 7:05 the tell-tale chime of the door opening had Mark on edge, he was mostly hidden behind a tall shelf, which he was currently stacking vegetables onto. The footsteps were slow and almost searching and soon enough, Mark’s nose was filled with the sinful smell of chocolate and cherry, as dark and intoxicating as the first time.

His mind wandered to what his own scent was, surely it couldn’t be anything as exotic as Jackson’s. Speaking of the other man, the footsteps were growing closer and Mark made sure to look engrossed in the trolley of produce in front of him that he still needed to put out, back towards the approaching man.

He could vaguely hear Janice chatting away to a regular customer and friend of hers, so at least they wouldn’t be breaking a deafening silence.

The smell and feel of the other’s aura was almost smothering at how close he was and Mark was sure that the other man must have been in his aisle at this point. His skin felt prickly at their proximity and it wasn’t until ‘Jackson’ coughed awkwardly that Mark was forced to confront the situation head on.

God, he was even more handsome up close. His eyes were big and the colour reminded Mark on the chocolate he smelt like; his nose was rounded and cute and his teeth were as white as snow, as they gnawed nervously on his bottom lip.

“Uhh, hi, please don’t run away” Mark flushed in shame as Jackson hurried to get his words out, clearly worried that Mark might bolt like he did last time. When it was clear that he wasn’t going anyway (whether by choice, or by the fact he was on the clock) Jackson seemed to sag with relief, his oversized jumper looking less snug as his muscles visibly relaxed. “Mark, right? I’m Jackson” A firm hand was extended in his direction and Mark stared at it for a few seconds before shyly grasping it in his own; the touch sent a shockwave through his body and it was clear he wasn’t the only one who felt it as 

Jackson stared at him in what looked like awe, seeming to not notice he was still just holding awkwardly onto Mark’s hand.

Looking away, he gently tugged his hand out of the other’s grasp, which was more difficult than it sounded, before returning to arranging the shelves – after all, he had a job to do and it gave him something to distract him from Jackson.

“The girl said you were shy, but that’s OK” Mark realised he had yet to say anything verbally to the other, and Jackson looked a little more nervous at the lack of response. “I’m a talker myself, so I suppose we balance, right?” He chuckled nervously and stuck his hands into his pockets to avoid fidgeting.

“Ah sorry, I don’t mean to be rude” That look of awe reappeared on Jackson’s face and Mark was sure he was the colour of the tomato he was holding at this point at how embarrassed he felt by the whole situation.

“Can I – can I ask why you ran, the other day… I mean I was shocked too you know, not expecting to just go to buy some milk and meet my soulmate, but there you were…” Jackson started to ramble before Mark could even attempt to answer his question and Mark found himself smiling softly, it was cute really and equally as reassuring that he other male wasn’t as hard as he had first seemed. First impressions were clearly wrong on this one.

“I’m sorry about that. I’m not a huge people person, I just panicked, you just looked so…” He trailed off, not really sure what he was wanting to say himself.

“So?” Jackson tried to subtly glance down at himself, but Mark caught the action and he panicked, he didn’t want Jackson to take it the wrong way.

“Intimidating” He winced when he realised that that really wouldn’t help the situation, especially when he felt Jackson’s aura dampen before him and it made his own soul ache. “Wait, no, that’s not what I mean… you just looked, untouchable, I don’t know, powerful, expressive. Everything I’m not used to” Jackson seemed to be pleased with his answer as a cheeky smile replaced the downtrodden look and he gave Mark a quick once over.

“Well I can’t say I felt much different, you’re beautiful you know that?” His voice seemed hushed, almost as if the last part wasn’t wholly intended for Mark to hear.

Mark took a shaky breath in, he really had no clue how to flirt, nevermind how he was supposed to reply to something like that. Jackson seemed to notice his discomfort almost instantly and quickly waved his arms in front of his face, a blush dusting his own cheeks. “Ah, I’m sorry, that was too forward. I don’t really have a filter on what I say” He smiled apologetically, rubbing the back of his neck.

It was then that Janice stuck her head around the other end of the aisle, tutting teasingly at them. “I don’t pay you to stand and flirt with cute boys Mark” Although he knew she was just joking and no doubt had witnessed Jackson’s appearance earlier in the day, Jackson seemed startled and bowed before taking a step backwards.

“Sorry, I shouldn’t be bothering you at work. Can we maybe, go for coffee some time?” He looked so much like a lost puppy that even if Mark had wanted to, he couldn’t have said no. So he nodded and gave Jackson his number, who grinned the brightest he had yet and promised to call or text with plans over the next few days.

Like the whirlwind he appeared to be, he was gone, leaving only a lingering hint of dark fruit behind him.

“Ah, true love” Mark turned to see Janice looked wistfully at the door, hands clasped to one cheek and it made him roll his eyes. Was everyone around him a helpless romantic other than himself?


	2. The Brownie Bar

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn't mean for Mark to be so angsty, but it just kind of happened - so just a warning in advance that Mark is super socially awkward in this chapter.

Clearly a man of his word, Jackson had texted Mark the next day, with a simple ‘Hey, how was your day?’ and if anything, Mark just felt more out of his depth – how was he expected to have idle chit chat with a practical stranger who was also his soulmate as if they were friends.

It had taken an embarrassingly long time for Mark to come up with a casual enough response, simply telling Jackson that his day had been boring, other than the sight of some ducklings at the local park Mark had visited after his classes had ended for the day. Jackson had seemed excited about the park, ‘especially during autumn, the colour of the leaves kind of reminds me of your hair’. Mark had flushed at the comment, he supposed he was going to have to get used to Jackson’s unfiltered compliments if he wanted to not make a total fool out of himself.

Eventually, plans had been made to meet up for coffee that evening; Jackson let Mark pick the place and he was sure it was the blonde’s attempt at making him more comfortable with the situation. But he appreciated the gesture and he chose his favourite little café called the ‘Brownie Bar’ – they served his favourite salted caramel brownies that were the epitome of autumn.

The place was quaint enough that Mark wouldn’t feel overcrowded, but busy enough that their (probably awkward) conversation wouldn’t echo around the place. It was one of his best photography spots for the people side of his portfolio and he knew he was taking a risk bringing Jackson there on their first date, if he could call it that – if it went bad, it could taint his impression of the place.

But even in his pessimistic mind, he was excited about the date. Jackson was a bright personality, someone who could bring colour into even the darkest of days, he was exactly the type of person that Mark would normally photograph.

So it was when he found himself staring at his wardrobe in wonder of exactly what he was supposed to wear on a date, that he realised that he was entirely unprepared. After going over his options again and again and coming up with a loss each time, he finally caved and picked up his phone, dialling the number of his closest friend.

A voice sounded on the third ring. “Hello?”

“Hey, Jinyoung, I need help” He waited for Jinyoung’s no doubt sarcastic comment; the man’s humour was very dry, especially when it came to Mark’s revelation of finding his soulmate. But Mark knew that deep down his best friend was as relieved as his own mother that he’d found someone, as he himself had already found JB, his own soulmate and could only give Mark so much of his time.

“Oh, I almost forgot your little date with destiny is tonight” He heard two sets of sniggered and assumed his friend’s other half was present, not that it was an uncommon occurrence to find them together. 

“What can I help you with, Princess?”

Mark rolled his eyes at the familiar nickname, it was just Jinyoung’s way of showing him affection. “I have nothing to wear, everything seems so bland”

“Well that’s because you own very little colour in your wardrobe. What time are you meeting him?” Mark glanced at the clock on his wall, it was currently 5:45 and they were meeting at 7, so he had about an hour before he had to leave.

“7, so I need something quick” Jinyoung hummed in thought, before Mark could hear shuffling.

“I’ll be over in 10 with some stuff, do your hair or something” With that the call was ended and Mark was left no more clued up than when he’d called; but at least he could count on Jinyoung to make him look presentable.

True to his word, Jinyoung appeared at his doorstep exactly 9 and a half minutes later, greeting Mark’s parents just as they were leaving for a romantic dinner (“because if my Son has a date, they why can’t I”). With arms full of outfits, Jinyoung took less than 15 minutes to dress Mark, who was more of a living mannequin than anything else.

But he couldn’t complain; by the end of it, Mark was dressed in his own skinny black jeans and black worn-looking converse. From Jinyoung’s collection came a tight black turtleneck, which was covered by an open navy lumber-jack shirt and a simple thin gold necklace that matched his watch.

“Wow, if I do say so myself, you look great” Mark played with the hem of his shirt, feeling shy. It was rare that he got so dressed up, and while he felt a bit uncomfortable, he hoped that Jackson would agree with Jinyoung. Wait, since when was he so bothered about a man’s opinion who he had literally spoken to in person only once before?

Maybe this whole soulmate thing was messing with his mind more than he had originally thought.

“Get out of your head a bit, you need to relax if you’re going to get his attention, though I suppose you’ve clearly done that enough for him to be interested” Mark hit Jinyoung’s arm lightly as the other fluffed at his hair, moving each bit of hair with a precision that Mark could only dream of.

He couldn’t deny that Jinyoung and JB made a very attractive couple, each having their own distinct style that seemed to compliment the other’s, making them look so expensive.

While Mark’s attire was normally loose and ill-fitting, with muted colours and very few patterns – quite a lot like himself really, very normal and crowd-blending.

“I just hope it goes OK, what do I talk about?” Biting his lip in nerves, it was Jinyoung’s turn to roll his eyes, pulling him to the bed to make him sit down next to him. The clock read 6:35, so he had about ten minutes before he really should be leaving so that he wasn’t late.

“Anything, everything. Find out about him, where he works, what he likes to do, what he doesn’t like… ask questions, there’s nothing more attractive than being genuinely interested in getting to know someone. If he can’t like you for you and all of your awkward shyness, then maybe your genetics got messed up and he’s not the one for you. But I doubt that’ll happen, so don’t stress too much” Mark smiled at his best friend, he was right, reading too much into the situation was going to do him no good. He needed to give Jackson a fair chance, since his own needs were affected by his emotional avoidance.

“But you need to open up to him too” Jinyoung looked at him more seriously this time, squeezing Mark’s knee reassuringly. “He’ll have questions for you too and knowing you, your answers will probably be short and closed-off.” Mark frowned but he knew he friend was right. “So just give him something to work with, something that’ll have him running back to you”

They both chuckled at the image of Mark being followed around like the owner of a new puppy; but surprisingly enough, the idea of Jackson chasing after him was more appealing that he had first thought.

 

~~7pm~~

 

Soon enough, Mark found himself sat at one of the booths near the back of the café, which was pretty busy considering it was 7 on a weekday. He was sat staring at a menu he already knew like the back of his hand when the little bell over the door chimed, and the air filled with the now familiar scent of Jackson.

Glancing up, he saw Jackson glance around the place before settling on Mark with the brightest grin he’d ever received in his life. The other made his way over and slid into the booth seat opposite Mark, smile still on his face as his eyes quickly swept over his companion, who flushed under the attention but couldn’t deny he’d also done the same the minute Jackson had walked in the door.

“Hey” Jackson looked like he was about to explode with happiness that Mark had spoken first and the other couldn’t ignore the way his own heart swelled with emotions he wasn’t used to at being this close after a few days.

“Hi, you look great” Mark smiled shyly and muttered a ‘you too’, trying to appear interested in the same menu he’d been picking at for over 5 minutes. It must have caught Jackson’s attention as he too grabbed a menu and studied it. “Wow, you must love sweet stuff, huh?” The tone was light, but for a second Mark panicked.

He only just realised he’d picked a place that solely sold sweet stuff and predominantly brownies and shakes at that, without even checking if Jackson was into that sort of stuff.

“Ah, I’m sorry I should have asked what you liked first…” He trailed off, watching as Jackson began to look as startled as he was sure he did himself.

“Don’t apologise, I love chocolate, so it’s fine, I guess it’s just something we have in common” The bright smile was back as quick as it went and Mark felt himself relax under the calming presence of his soulmate. “What would you recommend?”

At least they were back in comfortable territory for Mark, as he’d tried most of their menu over the few years he’d been coming here, save for a few things he didn’t like. “Erm, my favourite is the salted caramel brownie, but the white chocolate and raspberry is also good and is a little less rich. I’ve never had the coconut one, I don’t really like coconut, so”

Jackson seemed to be absorbing the information like it was the most interesting thing he’d heard all day. “I don’t like coconut either, so that’s good. I like fruits with my chocolate, like orange or cherry”

Mark’s mouth seemed to be working before his brain did. “I suppose that makes sense” Jackson paused, looking confused at Mark’s comment. “Uhh, I just mean because that’s how you smell… to me” He was cringing at himself more as the sentence went on and Jackson seemed to shy for the first time, a light pink dusting his cheeks.

“You smell like pine and fresh linen, I think that’s the right way to describe it” Mark frowned, typical, his scent was an unspecial as he was. Jackson seemed to sense his displeasure and quickly tried to justify himself. “No, it’s a good thing, great really, it’s so refreshing and cleansing, like my mind is clearer when I smell it”

Mark found it endearing that Jackson was scrambling to try and appease him, and he supposed the reasoning made him feel a bit better.

“What are you getting?” The awkwardness was quickly forgotten as Jackson’s attention was redirected back to the menu.

“I think I might get the white chocolate and raspberry and maybe a ginger beer, what would you like?” Mark told him his order, which was obviously his favourite brownie and a cup of lemon green tea (he knew it was a juxtaposition to his food, but his argument was that it was healthier to cut through all of the indulgence).

Before he could even reach for his own wallet, Jackson was up and ordering at the counter, clearly intent on paying for his date’s food. The small unspoken gesture made Mark’s heart flutter; he had never had someone treat him to anything.

He took a minute to really just take in the being that was Jackson Wang. The man was wearing an outfit much different to the bad-boy aura he gave off last time and Mark wondered if it was because of his comment last time. He wore some light blue skinny jeans (still ripped and sinfully thigh hugging), and a light cream knitted jumper, with a simple silver dog-tag chain around his neck. The lighter palette really complimented his hair, and Mark could smell lingering undertones of musky notes of whatever cologne he had put on – not that he needed to wear any scents around his soulmate, as they would only get lost in his own natural smell.

His serene mood was flattened a bit by the young girl behind the counter, who was clearly as bewitched by the blonde man as he was. She was tucking her hair behind her ears and glancing at him every few seconds, a shy smile on her face.

But Jackson didn’t even seem to notice, instead staring in awe at the sweet selection in the glass cases and it made Mark smile. At least his love of sweets was something they shared, he wasn’t sure how it would have gone if Jackson had been a gym buff who only ate protein shakes or steak for every meal.

Within a few more minutes (including a few more futile attempts from the server to get Jackson’s attention) Jackson was back at the table, tray of food in hand.

Mark’s mouth watered at the smell of his brownie and he thanked Jackson, who seemed to fluff with pride as Mark tucked in, eyes closing in delight at the familiar taste. When he opened his eyes, he found Jackson just watching him, fork seemingly forgotten in his hand mid-air.

They both flushed as they remembered where they were and what they were doing and began to eat in a comfortable silence for a few moments. Jinyoung’s words floated around in Mark’s mind so he decided to put his awkwardness behind him and try to at least get to know his soulmate more than his name and the fact he was buying milk when they first met.

“So” Jackson’s eyes darted up to meet his, an expectant look on his face as he took a big swig of his ginger beer. “Tell me about yourself, what do you do, what do you like… you know” He trailed off, biting his lip as he waited for a response.

Jackson put his fork down next to his half-eaten brownie and licked his lips as if to prepare himself. “Well, my name is Jackson Wang, I’m 20, music production major, I live about 10 minutes in the opposite direction of your shop than you do.” He seemed to pause for thought for a second, as Mark took a drink of his cooling tea. “I have a small job at the local gym and I like music, obviously, martial arts, fencing, dogs… most things really, there aren’t many things I don’t like”

Mark listened, trying to file away all of the new information in case it was useful later. “I’ve always wanted a dog, but my parents wouldn’t let me get one in their house” Jackson looked surprised for a minute.

“You live with your parents?” Mark flushed in embarrassment, he knew it was weird that a 22-year-old still lived with his parents with no intention of moving out. “I didn’t mean it in a bad way, I’m just surprised, you seem pretty independent” Mark nodded and just shrugged, not really feeling like explaining that it was easier but that he also liked the peace he got not living with other students.

“So anyway, enough about me, tell me about you” Dark eyes stared into his own and Mark found himself just staring for a second before taking a bite of his brownie to put off the talking for a moment.

“Well, there’s not much to tell really” Jackson looked like he was about to protest, but Mark just carried on talking. “I’m 22, photography major, live with my parents, work at the local corner store about 4 days a week around classes. I like reading, especially out in nature, like the park I mentioned. I take a lot of picture of nature, sometimes of people, especially around here” He let his eyes wander over the other people in the café, all engrossed in their own conversations. “That’s about it really, I’m not particularly exciting” Jackson shook his head with a small smile.

“You don’t know how wrong you are” It was so quiet that Mark almost missed it, if he hadn’t already been paying such close attention to Jackson. He wasn’t sure whether he was supposed to respond and so just took the last bite of his brownie, savouring the salty-sweet taste before washing it off his palette with the tea.

“Did you enjoy the brownie?” He glanced at Jackson’s now clear plate with a soft smile as the other nodded enthusiastically.

“I can’t believe I’ve never been here before, how did you even find this place?” He glanced around, taking in the place, from the wooden furniture to the cherry oak coloured walls decorated with small frames of meaningless pictures – there were even a few of Mark’s own dotted around.

“The owner is a friend of my Mom’s, nice lady, a lot like you actually” Jackson raised an eyebrow but didn’t push the comment any further.

By now it was past half 8 and the place was only open for just under 20 minutes before they would start ushering people out. Both were finished with their drinks now too and Jackson looked at him contemplating for a moment when he thought Mark wasn’t looking. “Can I walk you home, or is that weird for a 20-year-old to do to a 22-year-old?”

Mark chuckled but nodded, shuffling sideways out of the booth, waiting for Jackson before heading towards the door, waving at the owner on the way out.

They sauntered in the direction of Mark’s street, neither saying anything as the calm atmosphere washed over them. After a few minutes, Mark felt the back of Jackson’s hand brush his and he tried to hide his smile. He was determined to take things as slowly as you would with someone who wasn’t your soulmate; he wanted to do this the right way, so that things in the long run would be better.

He brushed his pinky along Jackson’s and soon enough it wrapped around his own – not quite hand-holding, but it was enough of an assurance for Jackson to feel like his intentions had been noticed.

Mark led them to his house and soon they found themselves stood at the end of his drive, a strange tension in the air. His soul ached at the fact that he was going to be separated from his other half. He supposed this was the moment where his date would kiss him on his porch under the moonlight and it would be a perfect end to a perfect date.

But this was the real world and Mark was still the socially awkward human being he has ever been and so when Jackson leaned in, Mark turned his head so that lips met his cheek instead.

He flushed and looked at the ground hands grasping at the oversized cuffs of his sleeves; the sad aura of his soulmate flashed up around him and it made him wince, so he grabbed Jackson’s hands in his own, still not meeting his eyes.

“I’m sorry, that was too soon wasn’t it?” Jackson chuckled awkwardly but it seemed like his ego was appeased.

“No I’m sorry, I just want to take this slow… I don’t want us being soulmates to mean that we rush into things” Jackson nodded and squeezed his hands as he made eye contact with Mark, reassuring him. 

“I’ll call you soon, OK? And I’ll take you on a proper date” Mark smiled and slowly took his hands back, taking a step up the drive.

“Goodnight Jackson” The blonde man looked almost ethereal under the dark sky and the light of the streetlamp as he watched Mark walk towards his house.

“Goodnight Mark” He waited until Mark had closed the door before he turned and slowly headed back off the way they came.


	3. Late Night Confessions

“So, how did it go?” Jinyoung’s voice came through the headphones in his ear attached to his phone. It was the day after his date and he’d gone on a day-trip to the park to clear his mind a bit.

“Good, actually” He took a moment to glance out over the pond, a few families of ducks floating around and chasing the pellets being thrown into the pond by the local children. “He’s funny and nice” He smiled softly at the memory of their date; he was pleased that he came out having gotten to know Jackson a bit better.

“Then why do you sound so cautious, what’s wrong?” Jinyoung always seemed to know when something was bothering him, even if he wasn’t conscious of it himself.

“I don’t know, nothing’s wrong. He’s a great guy, seems to really like me too” Mark bit his lip, hands fidgeting with the rips in his jeans as he sat on the bench, watching the group of joggers pass by.

“Maybe that’s exactly the issue” Jinyoung sounded like a lightbulb had gone off in his head but Mark wasn’t following, he didn’t get where he was going with this one. “Hear me out. You’re used to being by yourself romantically, you’re maybe a bit scared, maybe a bit overwhelmed. The fact he’s so perfect for you is the issue – you’re just not used to it”

Mark paused and then nodded to himself, his friend was right. He was scared, this person was the supposed love of his life and maybe a part of him was hoping the date wouldn’t go so well, so his lack of enthusiasm about soulmates wouldn’t have been quite so smashed to pieces. But Jackson did nothing wrong, he was both interesting and interested in getting to know him at Mark’s pace.

“You’re really smart you know that” Mark stated, knowing that Jinyoung probably already knew that. The scoff he heard confirmed that suspicion, but his friend didn’t make a sarcastic comment.

“I really think you should try opening up to him some more, but don’t rush things. The last thing we want is for you to get scared and bolt again, right?” The tone was teasing at the end but Mark knew Jinyoung was being serious.

“Yeah, we’re taking things slow. He… He tried to kiss me at the end of the date” He heard a sound of interest from the other end but chose to ignore it. “But I turned my head; too soon you know” Jinyoung ‘hmm’ed in agreement and apologised before announcing he had to hang up, probably something to do with JB from the sounds in the background.

Now sat in silence other than the sounds of the park, it was just turning to dusk and so all of the mothers were gathering up their small children, who made sounds of protest. They waved to the ducks, who were no longer paying attention once the flow of food had stopped. Mark smiled softly at the put-out looks on their faces as they were ushered into prams and out of the park.

The area was mostly empty, save for a busker who was taking a smoke break just down the path and a couple on a romantic stroll along the side of the pond, making heart-eyes at each other with every glance.

Mark wondered if he and Jackson would look at each other like that someday; he pointedly ignored the voice in the back of his mind telling him that Jackson already looked at him like that when he thought Mark wasn’t paying attention.

His mind wandered to the other man, picturing his glowing smile and bleached hair, that always seemed to be perfectly styled no matter the weather. But it was his eyes that attracted Mark the most – they were some of the only dark things about Jackson, who otherwise made a good double for the sun itself. 

They were the colour of rich chocolate, a lot like how he smelled, if it were a colour. However, it wasn’t just how deep they looked when Mark caught himself staring that he liked, it was how openly expressive they were.

He reckoned Jackson was probably a terrible liar, which he supposed was a good thing really; his eyes revealed exactly how he was feeling even if his face didn’t show it. Mark recalled exactly how surprised and hurt they looked when he had turned and ran, how nervous they looked when they were alone at the shop and how entranced they looked when Jackson was asking Mark about himself.

As reassuring as it was to see how openly Jackson seemed to like him, it was also a bit overwhelming to be presented so clearly with that sort of admiration.

It made Mark feel a little bad that he was such a closed book, even sometimes to those he called his close friends. It must be so difficult for someone like Jackson to deal with that – to not know how Mark was truly feeling, no matter what he said.

Shaking his head to clear himself of the negative thoughts, he reminded himself of Jinyoung’s advice to open up more. Thinking all of his worries about what he was doing wrong was not going to help him be less of a closed book, was it?

Glancing one last time in the direction of the setting sun, he pulled out his camera from his bag to take a few pictures, after all it would be a waste to leave without capturing the orange hues cast over the water. He photographed the sunset itself, just barely visibly about the city skyline; then the pond, now a golden colour, families of ducks and all. 

He was about to put his camera away when he shot a look in the direction of the couple, who had now stopped to huddle for warmth to watch the sunset on the centre of the bridge… how romantic. Mark scoffed to himself, but raised his camera nonetheless, capturing their muted silhouettes on the bridge, with the sun in front of them.

Deciding he’d better head home, Mark packed away his camera, swung his bag over his shoulder and set off out of the park, jacket zipped firmly as high as it could go.

 

~~

 

He opened the door to the sound of chatter from the dining room, alongside the smell of the traditional Chinese food his mother made whenever she had guests over.

Poking his head around the corner, he spotted his parents sat with 2 of his 3 siblings. Joey was younger than him, and the only sibling other than him that still lived at home, so it wasn’t unusual to see him sat tucking into his dinner. However, they were also joined by Tammy, his oldest sister, who smiled when she spotted Mark and patted the chair next to her.

Dumping his bag, shoes and jacket near the entrance, he padded into the dining room to join his family, saying his Hellos before receiving the plate his mother was busy piling with food for him.

Mark wasn’t particularly bony, nor muscular, but his mother fretted over his weight almost constantly telling him he should eat more and to stay healthy. He just smiled and agreed with her, he knew it was a battle not worth fighting.

“So” Tammy started eyeing him up, before taking a sip of her iced tea. Joey glanced between them, before shooting Mark a knowing look. That could only mean one conversation. “Mom told me about your soulmate” He nodded slowly, choosing to pay attention to his food rather than his siblings. Joey was looking far too smug for his liking.

“Yeah, the one he ran from” Mark kicked his brother from under the table, before his mother could scold either of them. “Ow!” He did get told off at that point, but he was at least feeling a bit better about his ego.

“Jackson” Was the only input he decided to give, taking another big mouthful of chicken and rice to buy himself some time.

“Jackson, right” Tammy paused, clearly waiting for further information but realised pretty quick that was all she was getting. “So when do we meet him?” Mark blanched, almost inhaling his rice in surprise. He hadn’t even thought about introducing Jackson to the family yet, they’d only been on one date for god’s sake.

“He’ll introduce him when they’re ready Tam, no need to rush” Mark shot an appreciative look at his father, who smiled subtly at him.

“But he’s his soulmate, it’s not like they’re just casually dating” Joey said, before picking his chicken leg up with hands, to be promptly smacked by his mother for bad manners. He really acted like the teenager he was sometimes.

“We’re not… we’re not even dating yet, you’ll meet eventually” Joey rolled his eyes at Mark, earning another warning from his mother, before Tammy piped up again.

“So, are you guys just friends or?” Sometimes he wished his family were more chill about soulmates, considering his previous lack of interest he would have thought they’d have realised he wouldn’t have rushed straight to marriage.

“No, we’ve been on a date, we’re just taking things slow. Doing it properly you know” Mark really wanted that to be the end of it, he didn’t want to have to explain all of the issues he’d been having internally about the situation. He felt bad enough about it as it was, without overbearing siblings making him question every decision he makes.

Luckily the conversation was moved on pretty smoothly by his parents and all talks of bringing Jackson home were forgotten, but all Mark could think about was the other man and how he’d fit in with his family.

He reckoned Jackson would fit right in, Mark was the only particularly quiet one of the bunch, so his bubbly personality would go right along with his crazy family. His mother would probably love him for his charms and no doubt he’d impress his dad with his drive and passion for life.

So Mark really didn’t know why he was so worried about everything. What was meant to be would be. Right?

Soon enough dinner was over and Mark excused himself, bidding his goodbyes to Tammy, who was sat nursing a G&T with his parents. He had a few editing projects for his course to do by next week, so he figured he would just get it out of the way. He was working again tomorrow evening, so he wouldn’t have the time to do it then.

He got through one page of his portfolio before his mind started wandering and his eyes stole glances at his phone, sitting innocently by his laptop, taunting him.

Jackson had made all of the previous first moves; he’d chased Mark down, came to his work until he was there and called him first. Mark was almost itching to text him, or something, just to speak to Jackson today.

By the second page of his portfolio, he could practically hear Jinyoung’s voice in his head urging him to just get over it and pick up the phone. After a few more dramatic sighs, Mark finally gave in and grabbed him phone, sending simple text just asking how Jackson was doing.

It took exactly 4 and a half minutes (not that Mark was counting) before his screen lit with Jackson’s name and Mark couldn’t help the little buzz of excitement that filled his chest.

J: ‘Hi Mark! I’m good, better now though’

Mark rolled his eyes at the response, but a soft smile spread on his face, before he could think about what he was going to say next, another text buzzed through.

J: ‘How are you? Have you been at work?’

M: ‘Not today, I had some classes, went to the park, had dinner with the family’

J: ‘Oh nice! You’ll have to take me to the park some time since you love it so much’

It was comments like that that really made Mark’s heart race; Jackson was so genuinely interested in getting to know him that he wanted to do things Mark did, even if it was as boring as spending hours sat in the park.

M: ‘Definitely’

M: ‘My family were asking about you at dinner’

Mark bit his lip, anxious for the response, he really wasn’t sure where Jackson stood with the whole meeting the parents things yet. They hadn’t talked about family yet, hell, Mark didn’t even know if Jackson had siblings.

J: ‘Really? I hope you told them only the good things ahaha’

J: ‘My parents still live in Hong Kong, so you don’t have to worry about that from me. I told them about you though, I hope that’s ok’

M: ‘Of course its OK, I mean mine obviously know about you… they asked about meeting you’

He almost facepalmed himself at the last comment, why did he just tell Jackson his family wanted to meet him. What if Jackson was super eager and Mark was put in an awkward situation, why did he do these things to himself?

J: ‘Well I’m glad, I’d love to meet them when you’re comfortable’

Goddamn he was just too perfect; what did Mark do to deserve someone like Jackson. He wasn’t sure how to express his feelings without just going full sap, so he settled for a polite thank you and ended up feeling totally dissatisfied.

J: ‘Is it bad that I miss you and I only saw you yesterday’

M: ‘No… it’s nice to know you’re thinking of me’

After a moment’s thought, Mark finally bit the emotional bullet and told Jackson what he was really thinking.

M: ‘I miss you too actually’

There were a few minutes of silence from his phone and Mark was worried that maybe he’d sent mixed signals and Jackson wasn’t going to reply. But the buzz from his phone was both a relief and nervy.

J: ‘Damn, I wish I could see you tonight. You don’t know how much I really wanted that kiss yesterday, but I know you’re shy and that’s cool too’

Mark was almost tempted to say fuck it and invite Jackson to come over; the more he thought about it, the more he regretted not letting Jackson have a goodnight kiss the day before, but he reminded himself that they were taking this slow for a reason. But he couldn’t stop himself from hoping that Jackson tried again sometime soon because at the rate he was falling, he would be more than happy to let him.

However, his family was home and he didn’t feel like explaining that after he just told them he was taking it slow, he had invited Jackson over just to make out.

M: ‘As much as I’d like to see you too, we can’t tonight’

J: ‘Knowing you’re thinking of me is enough for now. Come over to mine tomorrow? We can watch movies and eat pizza’

M: ‘Yeah, sure, I’m working until 8 tomorrow though’

J: ‘I’ll pick you up from work’

M: ‘See you at 8’

J: ‘Yeah, goodnight x’

Mark stared at the innocent little ‘x’ at the end of the message for at least 30 seconds as if it was so much more. But at the same time, it was so much more, it was the clear start of their relationship taking that next baby step.

M: ‘Goodnight x’

It was so hard to go back to his work after that, his mind reeling over the idea of tomorrow. Although it was clear that Jackson was more than willing to move at Mark’s snail pace, Mark wasn’t so sure in himself anymore; his body had clearly reacted to his change in mindset towards his soulmate and it only made him need Jackson around him more.

Why was he even holding out so much, when this man was his other half? He could be acting like Jinyoung and JB, all loved up and synced as one, he could be cuddling and kissing to his hearts content. And it certainly wasn’t like Jackson wasn’t attractive, he was gorgeous and Mark could spend all day just staring at him.

In the end, Mark gave up on his work and just went to bed, mind full of nothing but his soulmate. But if anyone asked, he certainly wouldn’t admit to waking up in the morning with an embarrassingly hard problem between his legs.

Definitely not.


	4. Hold Me Closer

At exactly 2:50, the door to the convenience store jingled, signalling to the other workers that Mark had just entered to take over once again from Yoongi. The older man nodded at him in greeting, as he continued to scan a boisterous looking male’s groceries – but Mark noticed the smitten look that the two shared and made a mental note to question Yoongi about the boy later.

He could see a bun of hair bouncing around on the other side of an aisle as he headed to the back room to clock-in and put his belongings in his locker; Dahyun waved at him enthusiastically as he passed her aisle.

She was working with him until 6, which made him smile. Even the dullest shift with few customers was infinitely more entertaining with her around – from her random bouts of singing to her bad puns, it made Mark laugh and roll his eyes at the same time while he worked the till.

It also meant he would spent most of his time on the till, unless Janice was around, because Dahyun was a bundle of energy and was most efficient when doing something on her feet. Whereas Mark was more than happy to move as little as possible, so being behind the till was perfect; the only downside being that he had to deal with some difficult customers that he otherwise pretty much ignore if he was stacking shelves.

After storing his jacket, wallet and keys in locker number 4, he pinned his name-badge to his shirt, making sure it was perfectly straight before getting a plastic cup of water from the dispenser to take to store under the till.

Once it was actually 3, he wandered out into the front of the shop, watching Yoongi head into the back, the guy from earlier lingering by the door (clearly waiting for the normally stoic man). Taking the smaller man’s place on the stool behind the till, he carefully tucked his cup on a shelf under the desk and scanned his employee card into the till so it was officially under his name and not his co-worker’s.

The first 20 minutes or so went particularly slowly, with not a single customer bothering to come in, not even just to browse or pick up some essentials. 

But he supposed it was only midweek, and people were probably working or simply had better things to do on days like this. Dahyun had clearly finished organising whatever it was she had previously been doing when she wandered over with a box in hand, beginning to restock the sweets that were emptying right next to the tills.

“So, how’s the soulmate?” She grinned at him, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively before carrying on slowly working as an elderly woman shuffled in, glasses hanging low on her nose, a wrinkled piece of paper in her hand.

Mark made sure to watch as she wandered around, in case she needed any help finding anything from what he assumed was probably her shopping list. “Good, actually” Dahyun looked momentarily surprised, before the grin from before was back, looking even brighter than it had done if that was even possible.

“You guys are so cute, I’m glad it worked out for you” She nodded firmly, concentrating on filling in as much of the space without it all toppling over the little lip at the front. “Is he a good kisser?” Mark flushed and gaped at her; that was the last thing that he had expected to come out of her mouth considering she was normally so formal with him. “I’m just kidding… unless you want to share”

Rolling his eyes, he bit his lip, trying to figure out what was the best way to say that he had lost his chance at finding out the other night when he turned away.

“Wait” Dahyun observed his nervous state and face-palmed, tilting her head in exasperation. “You haven’t kissed him yet, have you Oppa?”

He just shrugged, trying his best to look unfazed as the old woman reappeared with some bananas and a pack of sliced cheese (what she was planning on doing with both of those things, he really wasn’t sure he wanted to know). After scanning and bagging her items, he got up to hold the door open for her before returning to his seat to a patient Dahyun who had just finished with the sweets.

“It’s my fault, he did try” Dahyun sighed dramatically and shook her head teasingly at Mark, before they spotted the top of Janice’s head down the far end of the shop.

“Well maybe you should try next time” Just as casually as she left him the other day, she was gone, into the store room at the back, no doubt to do some other sorting job back wherever she was supposed to be.

The older woman smiled at him and patter his cheek and she grabbed the rota from behind the desk and wandered off again, looking more puzzled than she should have considering she was the one who wrote it in the first place. Mark shook his head with a snort, sometimes he wondered how her business was so successful when she was so ditzy with the paperwork.

The rest of the shift flew by a bit quicker once the fresh-out-of-work crowd flooded in to buy wine, or a quick and easy dinner to save them having to actually cook themselves.

Unfortunately, (or fortunately, he wasn’t sure at this point) he had barely had a chance to have a proper conversation with Dahyun, other than fleeting comments and meaningful looks whenever Mark would check his phone under the desk. Soon her shift was over and one of Mark’s other, more serious co-workers replaced her.

Ok so maybe he was more than a bit anxious for 8 o’clock to come around, but he was trying to play it cool even as he sat just staring at the ticking hands of the clock when there was a lull in customers.

If Janice noticed his impatience to grab his stuff and change into a nicer top that he’d brought with him so he didn’t have to sit in Jackson’s with his work shirt on, she refrained from commenting, which Mark was thankful for.

As expected, at 8:05 once he was ready to go, he saw a blonde man in an oversized khaki bomber jacket stood just outside of the entrance and his stomach fluttered, catching a whiff of cherries as another customer opened the door to leave. Taking a deep breath, he walked to the door, opening it and stepping out as confidently as he could when Jackson was staring at him the way he was.

“Hey” He murmured, not wanting to disturb the surprisingly quiet evening atmosphere. Jackson smiled at him, pulling him into an unexpected hug before greeting him back, taking Mark’s hand in his without looking him in the face.

“The walk isn’t too long, I hope you don’t mind I didn’t bring my car” Mark shook his head and let Jackson lead him in the opposite direction of his own house, into the side of the area that was filled with apartments more than suburban houses, much closer to the local nightlife and take outs – he supposed it was where most of the people his age lived once they got their own place.

His mind drifted to how perfectly their hands seemed to fit together; while Mark’s hands were longer, his fingers and palm were thinner, more girly in comparison to the thicker, but shorter fingers belonging to Jackson.

Glancing away from the hands, he tried to stop his mind from drifting to how those fingers would feel in other places on his body. “How was work?” He was drawn from his thoughts at Jackson’s question, as they waited at a zebra crossing for the lights to change. The other was only watching him, seeming genuinely interested in what he was about to say.

“Boring, as per usual, but it pays decent so I don’t mind” Mark shrugged, it wasn’t like he was lying, his place of work was about as vanilla as they came, but it suited him.

“But if you didn’t work there, we might have never met” Jackson smiled shyly at him, hand squeezing his as the beeping signalled them to walk, taking a left turn and down another street once they’d crossed. “So it’s not all bad, right?”

Mark nodded, not really sure how to respond to that without either embarrassing himself or saying the wrong thing. Soon enough Mark was being led into a neat looking apartment block and towards the lift; Jackson waved at the lady being the reception desk who smiled and waved back.

Pressing the number 3 on the lift, the ride up was silent but not awkward and after a few minutes they were stood outside of a red-painted door, that Jackson quickly unlocked and opened for him.

The apartment was pretty small, but more than enough for the student that Jackson was. The living area comprised of a three-person sofa, small wooden coffee table and surprisingly big flat screen, with a selection of gaming consoles and boxes littering the ground underneath. A breakfast bar was the only thing separating the kitchen area with a small two-person table in the middle, surrounded by grey cabinets and modern looking appliances.

Clearly Jackson either had good decorating tastes, or whoever owned the place took great care in setting each one up for their tenants.

“It’s really nice” Jackson looked pleased with his approval and shrugged off his jacket and shoes, taking Mark’s jacket when the older boy did the same.

“It’s not much, but it’s home” He looked fondly around, before moving in the direction of the kitchen. “Do you want a beer?” Mark raised an eyebrow at the question, Jackson was only 20 and definitely shouldn’t have been able to buy himself alcohol. The blonde man chuckled at Mark’s confused expression, before explaining himself. “Your shop never ID’s me, not my problem”

Rolling his eyes, Mark nodded in answer to the question, making himself comfortable on the grey sofa that matched the kitchen cabinets.

Taking some time while Jackson was busy, Mark noticed several pictures hanging on the cream walls; squinting to have a closer look without getting up, he noticed frames showing pictures of Jackson with what Mark assumed was his parents, smiling brightly at the camera – there was also some of groups of people, or pictures of a small child.

Jackson reappeared holding two tall cans, with condensation dripping down the sides; thanking the younger man, Mark took his and took a long sip of the cool liquid, trying to ignore the was his stomach fluttered as Jackson sat close to him.

The TV was soon turned on and Jackson asked Mark what film he wanted to watch, of course he replied that he didn’t mind, not wanting to be awkward about something so simple. They settled on a comedy, since it gave a light atmosphere and they had both commented on how they hadn’t seen it but it looked good.

Other than sparse comments about something that was happening in the films, or raucous laughter at a particularly funny part, they sat in silence seemingly absorbed in the movie.

But Mark was hyper aware of the way their thighs brushed when Jackson fidgeted or shuffled around when he laughed, his whole body reacting to his enjoyment. It sent little sparks of excitement through his body and he felt his face heating up when Jackson patted at Mark’s knee as he giggled as a character did something funny on the screen.

He also noticed the way the hand stayed on his leg, resting just above his knee almost tentatively, but when Mark glanced at Jackson out the corner of his eye the other was seemingly engrossed in the film still.

About 20 minutes later, Jackson’s hand squeezed his knee as he pushed off the sofa, offering Mark another beer. He watched the blonde man until he disappeared behind the sofa and out of his vision, giving him time to regroup and calm down; he knew he was being a bit silly with all of this, he was acting like a love-struck school girl on her first date.

Mark wasn’t sure whether Jackson would make a move on him tonight, or whether the rejection from last time would still have been plaguing his mind. He knew that maybe this time he would have to take Dahyun’s advice and make the first move, even if it was so out-of-character for him that it made him feel awkward just thinking about it.

He was dragged out of his internal dilemma when Jackson flopped back down onto the sofa, a pair of newly cold cans in his hands and a smile on his face.

The gap between them was about the same size it had been at the start of the movie, before the other had shuffled closer and it made Mark frown slightly. Without looking at Jackson, he pulled his legs up to tuck them to the side, giving him an excuse to move closer and lean against Jackson’s shoulder like it was the most natural thing.

Jackson glanced his way, an unreadable expression on his face, but he didn’t say anything, instead raising his arm and letting it rest casually along the back of the sofa behind Mark’s head.

They stayed like that for most of the rest of the film, snuggled cosily but without any acknowledgement of the shift in the mood. Mark occasionally felt Jackson’s fingers playing with the back of his hair softly and it sent little shivers up his spine; having his hair played with had always been a weakness of his, he supposed it was because it was something his parents did to soothe him when he was younger and it made him feel safe.

When it was nearing the end of the film, that Mark was pretty sure neither were really paying attention to anymore, he felt Jackson’s hand brush against the nape of his neck and he let his head fall back onto the arm behind him, staring up at the ceiling. He knew Jackson was just blatantly watching now and he titled his head to look at the other man, who was looking at him like he wanted to eat him alive.

Slowly, as if testing the waters, Jackson leaned down, hand raising to cup the side of Mark’s head as best he could with his bicep currently being laid on.

Letting his eyelids flutter shut, Mark felt the soft connection of their lips throughout his entire being and it was almost too overwhelming. While he’d heard of the sensation of finally kissing your soulmate, he really hadn’t expected it to be like this. He knew Jackson must have felt it too when the hand holding him tensed and the lips pressed harder, moving in fluid movements against his own.

The kiss was easily the most intense he’d ever had, heat seeping into his heart as he pushed back as best he could against the force the other, who was now cording his fingers through Mark’s hair, making him keen.

They separated only for as long as it took to take a fresh breath, before Jackson was back on him, tongue probing almost shyly at Mark’s bottom lip.

Mark certainly wasn’t in the right mind to be teasing, so his mouth opened obediently, meeting Jackson’s tongue half-way in a lazy but sensual dance that drew a small whimper out of him. The younger man seemed to be spurred on by the noise, turning in his seat so he didn’t have to crane his neck to kiss, giving him much easier access to Mark.

The scent of his soulmate flooded his sense until all he could feel or think about was Jackson, who’s other hand had wandered to play with the bottom of his shirt, fingertips just brushing at the skin underneath. His blood coursed through his veins as he brought his own hands up to push at Jackson’s chest, making him pull back, his eyes hooded but questioning at why Mark had stopped him.

The older man flushed and broke the eye contact, but Jackson seemed to understand that if they continued the way they were, it would go entirely against their previous agreement to take this slow. A quick glance at the TV told Mark that the movie had just ended as the credits began to roll slowly down the screen.

They shuffled back to an appropriate distance, Jackson’s arm not moving from the back of the sofa and it made Mark feel relieved, knowing that the other man wasn’t totally put out by being stopped when it was getting heated.

Mark chose to pointedly ignore how his pants felt marginally tighter than they did before, instead taking a calming breath when Jackson smiled at him and placed a chaste kiss on his cheek, standing to get rid of the small collection of empty cans that now littered the coffee table.

“I forgot to ask earlier, are you hungry? I could make something quick, or we could order food” Jackson paused, looking a bit embarrassed that he hadn’t asked earlier but Mark didn’t mind, having always been a late eater anyway.

“Anything is good by me” He knew such an open comment didn’t exactly narrow down their options, but at this point he thought he would have eaten anything Jackson gave him with how scrambled his mind felt.

“Ramyeon? I make a pretty mean Ramyeon if I do say so myself” Jackson shot him a playful smile and he nodded, smiling back and standing to follow Jackson into the kitchen this time. He lingered awkwardly just behind the other man, before Jackson ushered him into one of the seats at the cosy table by the wall.

Watching the other man bustle around the kitchen making two packets of Ramyeon, Mark sat, knee bouncing as he thought of what to say next.

What did people talk about so casually after something that intimate?

Luckily, Jackson came to his rescue and started telling him about random things he’d seen during the day and his plans for the weekend; he had mentioned that he was meeting some friends at a local bar for some casual drinks on the Saturday night and that Mark was more than welcome.

Mark’s mind drifted to his own friends and asked if he could bring them along, to which Jackson looked more excited than he really should have been for such a simple request.

He soon found himself sat across from the other man, knees touching under the small table, with two big bowls of Ramyeon between them. The air got tense again as Jackson seemed to be lost in thought, taking slow bites of his food and staring intensely at the bowl as if it was holding some sort of answers to whatever dilemma he was having.

After a few more moments of silence, Jackson looked up at him, a determined look on his face as he put down his chopsticks.

“Will you be my boyfriend?” Well… of all the things Mark had expected to come out of Jackson’s mouth, that was easily last on his list.

He blinked owlishly at the other man, chopsticks holding a long string of noodles half-way to his mouth, now frozen in the air. His mind reeled slightly at the sudden question, but it wasn’t like he didn’t like Jackson or that he didn’t see it working out in the future – the exact opposite in fact, so what was he so worried about?

“Yeah… yeah, I will” He felt his cheeks flush as Jackson took a relieved but slightly shaky-sounding breath, eyes breaking his stare to glance down at his food, a small smile on his face.

“Good, because I really like you Mark” He returned the shy smile and stirred his now cooling noodles, before taking a mouthful, hopefully to remind Jackson to eat himself.

Although he wouldn’t admit it out loud, he felt a bit different; maybe it was his body reacting to the romantic acceptance of his soulmate, being that one step closer to a happily-ever-after.


	5. Meet the Misfits

The week has rolled by lazily and eventually it was Saturday and for Mark that meant one thing only, he was going to meet the other people in Jackson’s life and likewise, introduce his own friends to his soulmate.

When he wasn’t occupied with working either at the store or at University, most of his free time (with the exception of his breaks to photograph whatever he found interesting on his walks) had been dedicated to Jackson. The younger man texted him frequently, with little thoughts for the day or something he’d seen that made him think of Mark.

He was surprised at himself for how much he didn’t mind the constant affection; as someone who valued their own space and time to just do nothing, he didn’t mind the fact that his soulmate was the opposite, almost craving the attention and constant reminders that Mark did want him and that he wasn’t taking things too quickly and scaring the older man off.

Mark had reassured him that he’d let Jackson know if he needed some space, or some time alone and that he shouldn’t worry about things like that.

It was something that the taller boy was worried about from time to time; what would happen if he did start to feel smothered, but he was in so deep that his biology wouldn’t let them be apart long enough for a break?

But as per usual, his right-hand man reminded him that he was being stupid dwelling over every possible imaginary problem that might never happen. If it did happen, they would just have to cross that bridge when they came to it. He knew Jinyoung was right and he knew that all of his monologues were only making him and JB more angsty to meet Jackson to get their own opinion on the man who had changed Mark.

Jinyoung and JB were due to knock on his door any minute and while he knew he was ready and had everything, he still felt a bit fidgety and skittish.

Giving himself one last look over, he took a glance over his outfit – his signature black skinny jeans were coupled with a simple but quite tight white long sleeved t-shirt, covered by his only leather jacket. After pondering what was missing for a moment he reached for a simple gold chain with a small dragon charm hanging off it.

A knock sounded on his door before he had any time to second guess the accessory, and he padded down the stairs to his front door, opening it for his friends before he turned to pull on some ankle boots and grabbing the few things he needed. Jinyoung stuck his head in the door to greet his parents who were curled up on the sofa, watching some old western that his Dad claimed was the best film ever made.

They waved and wished them a good night before Mark slipped out of the house, shutting the door quietly behind him and starting off in the direction of the bar, with JB and Jinyoung at his side.

“So who exactly are we meeting tonight?” JB spoke up, one hand in the pocket of his own leather jacket (granted his was far more expensive than Mark’s had been) and the other firmly in the grasp of Jinyoung’s.

“To be honest, I have no idea” He shrugged, stuffing both of his hands into his pockets to protect them from the slight chill in the air being out late in the autumn air. “Jackson just said he was out with some friends, and invited me to go to meet them. I don’t even know how many there are going” The others nodded, not saying much else other than idle chit chat until they reached the bar.

The place was somewhere the three had actually been before, it was relatively small and had a nice calm atmosphere; while the drinks weren’t necessarily the cheapest in the area, Mark felt comfortable in a place he knew.

It took all of 10 seconds of them being in the door before Jackson appeared out of nowhere, smiling dotingly at Mark as he pulled him into a hug, which Mark returned when he recovered from his daze.

After a few moments, they separated and Jackson extended his hand in the direction of Jinyoung, who smiled – though Mark could tell is was more calculative than genuine – and shook his hand firmly, introducing himself, then JB who nodded at Jackson and took the hand now extended towards him.

“We’ve heard a lot about you” Jinyoung stated, his eyes giving Jackson a curious once over before darting to meet Mark’s eyes. The look seemed placated and Mark let out a sigh of relief as Jackson chuckled nervously, hand rubbing at the back of his neck as he also glanced at Mark who shot him a shy smile.

“Good things I hope” Jinyoung nodded in response, before turning to ask what Mark wanted to drink, clearly excusing him and JB to give them some time alone. Once they had wandered off towards the bar, Jackson’s full attention turned towards him, hands reaching out to gently grasp the end of his own fingers, playing with them softly. “Hey, I’m really glad you make it. Your friends seem nice; I’m not sure what Jinyoung makes of me though” He chuckled, but Mark could tell that it was definitely more nervous than amused and he frowned, hands taking a better hold of Jackson’s.

“Trust me, he likes you, he’s just overprotective and you know, a bit curious about you… sorry if they both seem a bit aloof” Jackson seemed to brighten up at Mark’s reassurance, before letting go of one of his hands, leading him off towards the back of the bar where the bigger, bench-like tables were.

“Hey guys, this is Mark” The group was pretty big and it made Mark realise just how popular Jackson truly was, but he wasn’t entirely surprised given how much of a personality he was.

But what surprised him the most was Yoongi sat with the guy he had left the shop with the other day at one end of the table. “Yoongi” He greeted, smiling slightly as the other man waved lazily at him. 

Jackson looked between them, seemingly surprised that they knew each other, before smacking himself in the face lightly.

“Of course, I forgot you guys worked together!” Mark nodded, eyes drifting to the man sat with his arm around his co-worker. “Do you know Hobi?” Mark shook his head, explaining that they’d only met very briefly the other day.

The man smiled brightly at him as he greeted him, before Jackson moved on to the next person. “I met them through Namjoon” The tall man waved at him, a gentle smile on his face as he glanced between him and Jackson. “This is Amber, before you mention it, no we’re not related – she just stole my hairstyle” Amber scoffed and hit Jackson on the arm lightly before turning to extend a hand to Mark, being the only person close enough to do so.

“We’re a few men down, Shownu and Jooheon couldn’t make it today, unfortunately, but you’ll meet them eventually” Mark nodded and took a seat next to Jackson, before a drink appeared in front of him.

The introductions happened all over again, except it turned out that JB and Hobi knew each other from some sort of dance classes so when the pair sat opposite Yoongi and Hobi conversation flowed naturally.

Jackson squeezed his hand under the table, shooting him a reassuring smile as conversations flowed both in small groups and within them all as a whole quite easily. Mark thought he would have been more nervous, or at least felt a bit more uncomfortable than he actually did, but he reckoned it had something to do with already recognising a few faces, and everything to do with Jackson who blended the two groups seamlessly.

Mark sipped on his vodka cranberry as comments about things he didn’t know of floated around him until he heard his name.

Amber was leaning onto the table on the other side of Jackson, eyes on him as she clearly waited for a response to a question he hadn’t heard. “Sorry, I was in my own world”

She smiled and shook her head, ignoring the way Jackson’s arm moved smoothly to rest on the back of Mark’s chair – he wasn’t sure whether the other did it to try and comfort him or whether the action was subconscious.

“That’s OK, I asked how you were coping with Jackson’s wacko personality” The blonde man in question clearly hadn’t heard the question the first time either, as he looked scandalised and held a hand to his heart in mock hurt. Mark chuckled, letting his hand rest on Jackson’s knee as he turned slightly in his seat so he wasn’t straining to talk to that end of the table better.

“He’s been great actually, the perfect gentleman” Jackson stuck his tongue out at Amber at the response, looking far smugger than he had moments before, his ego clearly inflated by Mark’s praise.

“So you guys are dating properly now though, yeah?” She asked, eyes drifting to where the pair were touching, a small smile on her face as she took a slow drink from her glass.

Mark nodded and Jackson grinned, arm grasping his shoulder as he pulled them together briefly before returning to rest on the chair. “I asked the other day, when he was over at mine” Namjoon and Amber shared a look, before they both put their glasses down, seeming even more interested in the conversation than before.

“Over at yours eh, thought you two were taking it slow” Namjoon stated, directing it more towards Jackson than Mark, who tried not to get embarrassed at the teasing tone, choosing to study the drink in his hand.

Jackson snorted and threw a crumpled-up napkin at Namjoon who held his hands up in defence and laughed. “We are taking it slow, he was just over for a movie after he finished work” Namjoon made a noise of acknowledgement, turning his attention down the table briefly, gesturing in Yoongi’s direction.

“Oh yeah, Yoongi mentioned you guys worked together for a while now, I’m surprised we’ve never bumped into each other really” This time Namjoon’s comment was directed at Mark, who looked up at the mention of Yoongi and nodded, watching as his co-worker glanced in their direction at the mention of his name.

“What?” Yoongi asked, the conversation seemingly paused at that end of the table at the mention of his name.

“Just saying it’s a surprise Mark and I haven’t met before now, given you work together” Namjoon explained again, playing with the neck of the bottle of beer in his hand absentmindedly.

“We don’t often actually work the same shifts surprisingly, we tend to be leaving as the other is coming in kind of thing” Yoongi commented, shrugging in answer to Namjoon as everyone watched on in a comfortable silence.

The conversations merged and soon enough Mark found out that Hobi was actually Yoongi’s soulmate, and that they had been that way since they were little, growing up as best friends before eventually progressing romantically once the whole puberty thing kicked in. That made for a rare event of having 3 pairs of soulmates at the table, unusual for a group of their age.

When Mark finished his drink, Yoongi seemed to notice and stood, nodding his head in the direction of the bar in a silent question. Standing, Mark asked Jackson if he wanted another drink, before following Yoongi to the bar, leaning onto the counter next to the shorter man in silence for a few moments before Yoongi spoke up.

“I didn’t peg you as the soulmate type” Mark made a noncommittal noise, shooting a glance in the quiet man’s direction before they ordered their drinks.

“I suppose I would have said the same about you, I didn’t realise you already had one” Yoongi just nodded, looking fondly back at the table in Hobi’s direction who was still engaged in a conversation with Mark’s best friends. “How did the two quietest people end up with people as loud as those two idiots” Though to anyone else, the comment may have sounded offensive, Mark knew that this was Yoongi’s way of showing affection.

“It’s strange” He paused, watching as the bartender made their drinks on the other side of the bar before continuing. “I didn’t expect to fall for someone this quickly, soulmate or not”

Yoongi turned to look at him, a knowing look on his face as he paid for his drink and let Mark do the same, taking a sip. “I mean, I can’t say I really know the feeling in the same sense as you. Hoseok has always been around me, back when we were kids I knew something was different but it was more in a case of I wanted him around, when I didn’t want anyone else near me. But obviously things changed pretty quick when we got older”

“Jackson’s just so energetic, so lovable… and I’m a closed book, I enjoy staying in rather than going out… how do you deal with that?” He stirred his drink, pressing at the lime wedge to try and get some of the juice out.

“I don’t know how to explain that. It just happens naturally, you start to want to be with them more and don’t mind them taking up your time. But on the same hand, he’ll start to calm down… probably.   
He’ll be ok with sitting in silence while you work or read or whatever it is you’re doing” Mark nodded, he supposed that made sense – a compromise of sorts between Ying and Yang.

“Thanks Yoongi, I appreciate the advice” The older man nodded, smiling a small smile at him before wandering back off to their table, kissing Hoseok on the forehead as he slid past him to retake his seat on the bench.

Jackson thanked him for the drink, beaming at him and patting Mark’s empty seat before he sat down, hand coming down to squeeze at his thigh, rubbing absentmindedly over his jeans.

 

~~

 

The night had progressed smoothly and Mark felt more than welcome in the group – he was also incredibly pleased with how Jinyoung and JB gelled with the others, and by the end of the night everyone had exchanged numbers and a new group chat had been created on Facebook so it would be easier to organise the next get-together.

Slowly, as the night progressed, the people at the table dwindled until there was just Mark, Jackson, Jinyoung and JB at the table.

Each were now several drinks in and the atmosphere was far more giggly and intimate than before as the couples sat opposite each other, pretty much as wrapped up in each other as was publicly acceptable.

Jinyoung had announced that Jackson was worthy of his best friend, after a mini interrogation over some cold beers (to which the blonde man looked thrilled and enthusiastically shook his hand like he was accepting an award). After batting his eyelashes at his boyfriend, the stoic duo bid their farewells and finished their drinks in one, before sauntering out of the bar, Jaebum’s arm firmly around Jinyoung’s waist.

Mark watched them go for a few moments before his attention was drawn to his own soulmate, who was staring at him with slightly hazy eyes before he leaned in to nose at Mark’s neck. Feeling a flush spread up his neck as Jackson’s hot breath washed over his skin in light breaths, Mark grasped at his drink firmly, trying not to make a sound when soft kisses were placed on his skin.

“We should get out of here too, it’s late” He murmured, running his hand through the back of Jackson’s hair to draw the other man’s attention away from his neck and back up to his face. He nodded, a dopey smile on his face as they stood; a hand slid into his and Jackson felt so warm in Mark’s hand against the cool air that did wonders to sober them up slightly on the walk to Mark’s.

The streets were busy with equally merry patrons and a few even stopped the pair to greet Jackson, who hugged and chatted briefly with anyone that would listen until Mark tugged him away gently.

Carrying on down quieter, emptier streets, Jackson chattered away while Mark simply listened, giving his input here and there where it was necessary. It took a little over 15 minutes until they had entered Mark’s street, which at this time of night was empty and silent, only illuminated by the street lamps and the occasional light peeking through the closed curtains of people’s windows.

They slowed to a gradual stop at the end of his drive, the only light visible from his house was from his brother’s bedroom window, which was to be expected from his parents, who slept and rose early.

Their hands were still joined in a relatively loose hold and Mark glanced at them with a fond expression at just how well they looked together.

“I had a good time tonight, thanks for letting me meet Jinyoung and JB” Jackson smiled at him, eyes crinkling slightly in the corners as the nearest streetlamp gave them a warm glow.

“Me too, everyone was really nice… it was nice” Wow, way to go Mark, his brain must have been more clouded in alcohol than he had originally thought for the best thing he could come up with being ‘nice’. Jackson tried to hide his smile at Mark’s embarrassed look, pulling his hand free to settle them on Mark’s hips over his jacket, the leather cold under his touch.

The situation reminded Mark a lot of the first time they’d gone on the date and Jackson had tried to kiss him only to be rejected; it was safe to say that this time would go a little differently than the first.

Inching forwards until their clothes brushed, Jackson looked up at Mark from under his eyelashes, eyes looking even darker than before if that was possible.

He leaned up slightly, just nudging his nose against Mark’s cheek, breath fanning in soft pants across his skin, feeling far hotter than it should have against the chill of the night air. Even for someone who wasn’t a romantic at heart, Mark had to appreciate the intimate feel of the moment, even if they were stood in a public street.

His mind was drawn from his thoughts as lips barely brushed over his almost teasingly until he got impatient and pressed back firmer, moulding their lips together. Jackson let out a pleased noise, hands squeezing at his sides as Mark opened his mouth for Jackson to explore; Jackson pulled Mark’s bottom lip into his mouth, sucking and teething at the tender skin until it was flushed and plump from the attention.

Mark raised his arms to grasp at Jackson’s neck, thumbs hooking under Jackson’s jaw as their bodies pushed flush together.

They almost forgot where they were until the distant sound of a car door slamming shut broke them from their daze, forcing them to pull apart, panting slightly as their eyes observed each other as they calmed down.

“I should be going, I need to do some photography tomorrow for a project” Jackson nodded, looking a little disappointed before he dropped his hands back to his own side, Mark’s running down to rest on his chest for a moment before he also let them drop to his side. “You could come with me, if you’re free”

Jackson perked up, looking at him curiously as he nodded, not even taking more than a few seconds to mull over the idea before accepting.

“Of course I’ll come, I’d make myself free for you, even if I wasn’t” Mark bit his lip as he smiled at the ground, tucking his hands into his pockets to stop from fidgeting. He still wasn’t entirely used to Jackson’s one liners.

They agreed to meet at the main entrance to the park at 2, giving them plenty of time to lie in and get some proper rest before they went out. As much as Mark was looking forward to showing Jackson why he loved the park so much, he wasn’t that committed that he would get up at the crack of dawn to do so (unless the scenery was too good of an opportunity to pass up).

“Well, I’ll see you tomorrow” Jackson murmured as he leaned in for another kiss, which was much more chaste with considerably less tongue than their previous kiss.

Once he pulled away, he shot Mark a breath-taking smile before he turned and disappeared down the street as Mark bid his goodbyes, watching for a moment before strolling up to his door.

The urge to resist Jackson was getting harder to resist the more Mark couldn’t find any faults in the other man and while it would have scared old Mark, new Mark was more than excited to get to know Jackson better, in every sense.


	6. Tea in the Park

Groaning, Mark flung an arm over his eyes as his alarm blared from his bed side table. The sun was high at noon and his thin curtains did little to stop the rays filtering through and streaking across his face; after listening to another minute of the incessant ringing, he pushed up to sit, fumbling around blindly for his phone, managing to turn the noise off.

His night of drinking was still present the next day, it would seem, the tell-tale headache throbbing dully behind his eyes and his mouth was as dry as a dessert.

Managing to peel his eyes open, a quick glance at his phone told him it was half 12 and he had just over an hour before he was meeting with Jackson in the park. Mark just about managed to stumble down the stairs and into the kitchen, much to the amusement of his little brother who was sat eating a sandwich with their mother.

“Good night, dear?” She asked, a small smile on her face as she watched her son chug a big glass of water along with some pain killers.

“Yeah, really good” His voice sounded gruff even to his own ears and he waved off her concern as he turned to grab a clean towel from the stack atop the tumble dryer, before wandering back upstairs to the bathroom.

The shower was heavenly, washing any remnants of the previous night clean off his body; the water was hotter than he would normally have it, but it soothed the ache in his muscles and he let his eyes slip closed for a moment as he just enjoyed the warmth before he actually set about washing his hair and the rest.

Reluctantly, he stepped out of the shower about 20 minutes later, feeling considerably better than he had once he’d first woken up.

Towelling at his hair, he then wrapped the towel around his waist and set about brushing his teeth, removing the faint leftover taste of alcohol that had lingered. Looking and feeling entirely more human, 

Mark wandered into his room, deciding that today was as good a day as any for Jackson to see him looking like a slob. Pulling on some boxers, jeans and a baggy soft pink jumper that practically swamped Mark’s frame, he was almost ready.

With half an hour to go, he wandered back down the stairs to find his mother out in the garden, green gloves on, digging around in an empty patch of soil.

Knowing he should probably try and eat at least something until the meds settled in his stomach, he grabbed a banana, just ripe enough to start bruising, the way he liked it. Tearing it open, he slid on some slippers that were by the back door and strolled over to where his mother was kneeling, now he was more capable of human interaction.

“New plant?” She smiled up at him, nodding as she sat back onto her heels, squinting under the sun.

“Some bluebells, just to fill in some spaces” She gestured to the already lush garden row; while gardening wasn’t something that interested Mark, it did give him good photo opportunities when different wildlife inevitably visited their garden. “Your father and I will be gone for a few days on a business trip for him, I’ve left some money in the usual place, it should be more than enough to last you and your brother. Make sure he doesn’t do anything stupid while we’re gone please” He nodded, knowing that his brother was harmless even if he could be a bit of a handful.

When it was time to head out to meet Jackson, he bid his mother goodbye with a kiss on her cheek and put on some proper shoes, grabbing the essentials along with his camera.

The walk was nice, with the weather being particularly sunny for autumn, even though the leaves on the trees were just starting to turn the shade of golden that looked ethereal under the setting sun.

Jackson was already waiting patiently by the entrance when Mark arrived a little before 2, hands stuffed into the pockets of his hoodie, headphones in his ears as he bobbed his head along to whatever it was he was listening to. Mark tugged on his sleeve when he got close enough, startling the other man who jumped, knocking his headphones out of his ears as he stared wide-eyed.

Sniggering, Mark was pulled into a kiss once Jackson recovered himself, muttering their hellos against each other’s lips before Mark pulled away to lead Jackson into the park.

It was then that Mark noticed the wicker basket by Jackson’s feet, as the blonde man bent down to pick it up. “Ah, I wasn’t sure if you’d have eaten, so I picked up a few things for a picnic” Mark stared at him for a moment before looping a hand around the back of Jackson’s neck, stealing another chaste kiss in place of words he wasn’t sure he’d be able to find.

Jackson’s aura flared around him and made his own heart swell with adoration and the little things Jackson did. The other man really was the perfect soulmate; Mark would have to work harder on that front.

The smile he received when he pulled away was blinding and Mark ducked his head as he grasped onto the offered hand, wandering off into the park to a grassy patch near the lake. There were quite a few couples and groups of kids already there, taking advantage of the unusually nice weather, food and games splayed out across the grass.

The stereotypical white and blue check blanket was pulled from the basket and Jackson spread it out before the pair sat crossed legged across from each other.

“I got some sandwiches, those parsnip crisps I know you like, grapes and I picked up two brownies from the place we had our first date” Jackson explained as he spread the food out between them, a bottle of pink lemonade being the last thing in the box, along with some plastic cups and plates; it was truly picturesque.

“It’s amazing, thank you… I’m sorry I didn’t think of the same thing” Jackson frowned as Mark pouted, reaching out to squeeze at his knee in comfort.

“Don’t be silly, what would we have done with all that food if you had brought the same?” Mark chuckled alongside Jackson at the statement; he supposed the other wasn’t wrong when he said that but it didn’t help Mark feel any less shamed at his lack of gesture to his soulmate.

Pushing the thoughts aside for now, he pulled out his camera to snap a picture of the set-up, then of Jackson who was smiling at a young woman with a little girl in her arms as they passed.

Taking a moment to appreciate how well the other appeared on camera (even if he may have been a bit biased), he made a mental note to make Jackson the focus of a future project, rather than the atmosphere and inhabitants of the park. Putting the camera down, he reached out to grab a sandwich, gratefully accepting the plastic cup of the fizzy pink liquid that Jackson offered him.

“Were you hungover this morning?” Mark asked, noting how upbeat and glowing Jackson looked considering his own appearance earlier this morning.

“Not really, but I’m a morning person, so I don’t think it affects me too much having little sleep” Mark rolled his eyes and proceeded to tell him how he thought he was going to die when he had first woken up, getting a snort of Jackson but the other man cooed at him when he pouted, fingers pinching his cheek gently as he popped a sandwich into his own mouth.

They chatted about nothing for several minutes while they enjoyed the savoury part of their lunch, Mark eyeing up the chocolate orange brownies that were taunting him from their wrapper.

“Can you stop drooling over the brownies, I might get jealous” Jackson joked nudging him playfully before giving in and opening the bag that had the brownies in, handing Mark one with a napkin as he packed away any of the savoury food that they hadn’t managed to finish; it would be eaten later no doubt.

Mark let out a noise of contentment when he took the first bite, the oozy chocolate filling coating his mouth and no doubt reeking all sorts of havoc with his teeth.

“God, it’s delicious” Jackson watched him for a moment with a fond smile before trying his own brownie, slumping back into a lying position at the taste, earning a giggle from Mark. A rough hand tugged on his jumper until he gave in, lying next to Jackson as they savoured their dessert, eyes gazing up at the lazily moving clouds.

The other man pointed up at a large mass excitedly. “That one looks like an elephant, look!” Jackson turned to look at him, waving his hand around until Mark nodded, reaching absently for his camera to take a snap of the cloud. After all, it did look surprisingly like an elephant and Mark was never one to pass up on a potentially great image.

Once their brownies were finished, Jackson laced their fingers together, holding them onto his own chest as he fixed his attention entirely on Mark who was still cloud gazing in a world of his own.  
“So what did you need to take pictures of today?” Mark realised that he actually had told Jackson he was here for his project and while laying around all day was all too appealing, he did have work to do.

“Just anything in the park that stands out, anything worthy of being photographed really” The other nodded, looking around the park for something to point out, until something caught Mark’s eye. 

“Something just like this” He raised his camera as a blue butterfly fluttered onto the handle of their basket, snapping a few pictures with the pond in the background.

Jackson sat in silence, mouth open in a state of awe as he watched the pretty insect for a moment before something spooked it and it flew off.

It was little things like that which other people, who were paying less attention, would miss in everyday life that Mark thought were beautiful in their own right. “Sometimes there’s dragonflies in the summer on the pond, or particularly big snowflakes in winter that fall onto the pond… things like that, is what I try to capture in a picture” Jackson hung onto his every word, nodding his head as he asked to see some of his pictures some time, to which Mark shyly nodded. Normally he didn’t really let anyone other than his professors look at his work unless he was 100% happy with it.

Deciding to wander around for a while, they packed up their picnic and took a stroll around the park, Mark taking pictures of whatever took his fancy.

His pictures varied from people playing with a frisbee, getting a great shot of a border collie jumping into the air to catch it, to a family of ducks taking a stroll over the bridge, before hopping down into the water below.

After a few hours, he had more than enough pictures to put together for his project and he could tell that while Jackson would never voice a complaint, he was getting fidgety and bored with the placid scenery. “Do you want to come back to mine, my parents are gone and no doubt my brother has fucked off to his friend’s for the evening”  
Jackson perked up at this, nodding his head enthusiastically as Mark led them out of the park and towards his house.

His pulse picked up as he thought of them being all alone in his room for once; his body was starting to crave Jackson’s more and more, the longer they spent time together and didn’t take it further. He supposed it was just natural that soul mates would fall in love faster than other individuals and he wasn’t going to run away from it anymore.

 

~~

 

True to his word, the house was empty and they spent the first few hours watching a few episodes of Dexter, cuddled up on the sofa with mugs of hot cocoa like the children they still were at heart.

After a while, Mark turned to look at Jackson from where he was snuggled under his arm, the other’s attention focused on the TV. Their now empty mugs sat on the coffee table and a quick glance at the clock on the fireplace told Mark that it was half 7. They’d already managed to stuff their face full of Korean fried chicken and fries from the local Korean restaurant and Mark really wasn’t ready for Jackson to leave.

Dark eyes locked with his and he realised he’d been staring while lost in thought, eyes drifting from Jackson’s eyes to the plump lips.

Without saying a word, they both leaned in, a soft kiss sealing their lips as Mark moved to straddle Jackson’s lap from his position on the sofa.

The kiss was gentle and it was driving Mark crazy how considerate Jackson was all the time, he wanted him to be selfish, he wanted him to ruin him. Running his hands into the soft strands he tugged, lapping up the grunts that spilled from Jackson’s mouth as hands settled on his hips and the kiss heated up.

Pulling away, his bottom lip caught between Jackson’s teeth as their hooded gazes met. “I want you, I want this” He murmured against Jackson, taking in the gulp as his adam’s apple bobbed.

“Are you-“ Jackson started but Mark cut with off with a firm kiss, no finesse whatsoever, he just didn’t want to have that conversation and let his mind take over how this was going against everything he’d agreed to about taking it slow. He knew he was sure and he knew he was only torturing the both of them if he kept putting it off for no real reason.

Clearly the other took the message loud and clear, hands coming to life as they tugged at his jumper, slipping underneath to trail burning fingertips along his ribs.

They were a flurry of movement and their kisses were sloppy and dirty, before Mark bucked his hips forward, grinding down on Jackson, who hissed into the kiss, pulling away to mouth at his neck.

“Let’s go upstairs” He tipped his head back as his soul mate sucked a large hickey into the junction of his neck, just below where the neckline of his jumper would cover. Jackson hummed into his neck, hands moving to grasp under Mark’s thighs as he stood, carrying the elder up the stairs and with the direction of Mark he was soon deposited on his bed with a bounce.

Jackson stood at the foot of his bed, an almost predatory look in his eyes as he slowly peeled off his hoodie, dropping his shirt to the floor with it soon after. Climbing on the back in only his jeans, Jackson crawled over Mark who lay, hair tousled on the pillow around him, watching the other man like a hawk.

“Sit up” Mark complied without complaint, letting the other man pull his jumper up and over his head, it joining the other clothes already on the floor.

Jackson’s chest was pretty muscular and Mark couldn’t help the way his hands trailed over the dips of his abs on the way to the hem of his jeans. Deciding to return the favour from earlier, Mark leaned forward to latch onto Jackson’s collarbone, sucking against the skin until it flushed a pretty red under the attention.

Jackson let out a long sigh and ran his fingers through Mark’s hair as deft fingers popped the buttons on his jeans, teasing the zipper down with a light brush against the growing bulge underneath.

They rolled around on the sheets, hands groping and tugging until they were both were as bare as the day they were born, Mark perched on Jackson’s lap.

Mark dragged his fingers down Jackson’s chest, catching on perk nubs in a way that had Jackson’s hips bucking into Mark, who groaned and rocked his hips, feeling Jackson slide between his cheeks. Dark eyes watched him with intent as he leaned forward until their chests were almost touching, brushing his lips barely against the other man’s until he got impatient and sealed them, tilting his head to give better access.

Large hands grasped his butt, massaging the cheeks and spreading them to expose Mark to the cool air of his room.

A finger dipped to swipe over his entrance, feeling the muscles twitch under the pressure as the rough pad of Jackson’s finger send tingles up his spine. The air was thick with both tension and the mixing of their auras, which were flickering and flaring in arousal the more they got into it.

Jackson’s smell was more sensual that it had ever been and Mark almost felt drunk on the feeling of being so close to his soulmate.

Getting too impatient to withstand the teasing for much longer, Mark swung his legs off Jackson to reach his bed side table where he kept his stash of supplies. Hands barely left his skin for a minute   
before they were trailing random patterns on any skin they could reach until Mark returned to the bed. Stealing another kiss, Mark let Jackson take the lead once again, rolling onto his back and spreading his legs to accommodate the other man between them.

He heard the distinctive ‘pop’ sound of the cap being opened on the lube and his pulse raced, knowing that there was no going back now, not that he would want to this far in.

The cold startled him and he flinched, earning a mumbled apology against his lips as Jackson rubbed the finger around the rim in an attempt to warm the lube before the tip pressed in, retreating almost instantly. Breaking away from the kiss to whine, Jackson smirked at him before his face disappeared out of Mark’s view to suck at his jaw, no doubt leaving tell-tale marks that he would struggle to explain the next day.

Letting his eyes flutter closed when Jackson finally pushed his finger all the way in, his own hands reached up to grab at the younger’s biceps, giving him something to ground himself with as his head spun.

While Jackson’s fingers weren’t necessarily the longest, they were certainly thicker than Mark’s own and the feeling was overwhelmingly different from when he had experimented by himself.

Soon, a second and third finger joined the first, scissoring and stretching him until he was loose around the fingers. Mark moaned and his hips jerked when Jackson’s fingers brushed firmly over his prostate, little flecks of white flashing in Mark’s eyes as he panted, hands grasping at the sheets.

“Jackson, c’mon” He whined, reaching out to tug at Jackson’s hair, pulling the other away from where he was marking the skin around his collarbone. The younger man smirked at him as he gave a particularly harsh thrust into Mark’s prostate, sending the other man into a fit of spasms as he tried to both run away and get closer to the burning pleasure.

Apparently having had enough of the teasing for now, Jackson slowly withdrew the fingers until the tips caught on his already abused rim.

They took a few moments just to observe each other, basking in the warmth that spread through them from their mixing auras; whatever people thought love felt like, Mark was sure this was it.  
Jackson went to reach for a condom, but Mark’s hand shot out to stop him before he even realised he’d done it himself. Wide eyes stared into his own as his soulmate took in the implication of the action. 

“I want to feel you… I’m clean, so…” Mark trailed off, blushing a pretty pink as he averted his eyes to stare at Jackson’s chest rather than his face.

“Me too – shit, OK” Mark could see that Jackson was as shocked as his request as he was himself, though he wasn’t about to change his mind. Its not like he was planning on sleeping with anyone else after this anyway.

Fumbling with the lube with now shaky hands, the younger man managed to cover himself in lube, breathy moans filling the air as he tugged a few times before shuffling closer to line himself up. He felt more than saw Jackson brush against his entrance, the fresh lube cold against his burning skin.

The initial stretch as the tip pushed into him was both delicious and disorientating. It almost felt like Jackson was everywhere as he slid in to the hilt, all he could smell was Jackson, all he could hear was Jackson and most importantly all he could feel was Jackson – he could have sworn he even saw flashes and waves of light around them as the other still inside of him.

If this was what it felt like being with your soulmate every time, he understood why JB and Jinyoung were inseparable.

Kisses peppered his face and he realised Jackson was waiting for a sign to continue; tilting his head, Mark sealed their legs and hooked his legs around Jackson’s waist, pulling the other man in closer. Jackson grunted, arms bracing either side of Mark’s head as he slowly pulled out, before pushing back in.

The pace was slow and undeniably intimate and Mark felt every inch of Jackson with the slide, chest heaving as he took in desperate breaths, arms looping around strong shoulder to ground himself.  
Jackson seemed determined to keep the pace up, or down, as it were. While the feelings were definitely more intense this way, it was also driving him insane as slowly as Jackson’s thrusts.

Turning his head slightly to brush his lips against the younger’s ear, he took a deep breath before nipping at the fleshy lobe. “Jackson. Fuck me” The other stopped entirely and Mark swore he heard the other curse before his vision was filled with Jackson’s face as he rested their foreheads together after a quick glance down their bodies.

Clearly it was all Jackson needed and the pace picked up almost instantly, each thrust rocking Mark’s body up the bed until he reached a hand up over his head to hold onto the headboard.

As embarrassed as he felt, Mark couldn’t hold back the noises spilling from him with each thrust, Jackson not fairing much better. He couldn’t even bring himself to care about the sweat pooling between them wherever their skin touched; Mark felt like he was burning up. Jackson leaned back onto his haunches, pausing for a moment to take a few deep breaths before pulling out, much to Mark’s distain.

“Turn over” His voice was husky and it sent shivers down Mark’s spine as he complied, limbs feeling heavy as he pushed himself up onto his knees and elbows.

Jackson took his time to run his hands over Mark’s skin, fingers rubbing at Mark’s tense muscles for a moment before they settled on his hips, pulling him back as he pushed forward.

They both groaned as they rejoined, Mark’s muscles fluttering around Jackson’s length as he set up a firm rhythm, dragging his hips back to meet the forward thrusts. Slapping sounds filled the air and Mark could only hold himself up for a few more minutes before his front collapsed onto the bed, jutting his hips at an awkward angle as his knees remained planted on the sheets.

If he thought the previous positions were pleasurable, this was on a whole other planet; the bend sent Jackson straight into his prostate with every thrust.

His own erection ached as he leaked onto the sheets below him, neglected from the stimulations from everywhere but from there. Mark nearly hiccupped in his request for his soulmate to touch him and he’d barely gotten the sentence out before Jackson reacted, reaching around him to grasp him with a firm squeeze.

Mark let his head loll forward, eyes shutting as his mouth fell open, the building sensation nearing its peak as his body was overwhelmed by the other.

He could tell by the stutter of Jackson’s hips that he wasn’t far behind him and he let out a rather pitiful whimper as Jackson’s thumb dipped into his slit and all it took was one more firm stroke coupled with a well-aimed thrust. Mark’s back arched further as his whole body tensed as he came, Jackson’s hand milking him through it.

His body was almost numb as his heart swelled, beats thumping in his ears as Jackson pistoned into him until he reached his own peak. The garbled version of Mark’s name that spilled from his mouth made Mark’s spent body twitch as he felt the hot spurt inside of him before the other’s body moulded over his back.

They lay in silence, other than their harsh pants, until Jackson felt he was able to move to pull out of Mark, falling to his side so they could face each other.

“I love you” The words were whispered against his lips and Mark smiled, reached a tired hand to run through Jackson’s hair, pushing it away from where it had stuck to his forehead.

“I love you too” To say he was excited for the future was an understatement; he was more than ready to give all of himself to the other man, to his soulmate. Life could be testing, he’d been through things that he never wanted to live through again. But never had he felt so safe, so secure, in someone else – and to think, not even that long ago, he’d been willing to run away from this, quite literally.

Not anymore. He was never going to let someone as precious as Jackson slip away. He had truly found his missing puzzle piece.


End file.
